Utah Senate advances package of bills on newborn screening, energy incentives, mining loan and more

The Utah State Senate on Feb. 10, 2025, approved multiple bills addressing public health screening, environmental and recycling policy, energy incentives and a proposed loan to support a minerals processing operation.

The chamber approved measures including a bill directing newborn screening considerations, amendments to the state—annabis program, a plan to allow certain landfills to acquire shredding equipment for waste tires, changes to energy incentives for commercial wind and solar projects that add battery storage, and a proposed loan to a critical-minerals processor. Several bills were amended on the floor before passage.

Why it matters: The package affects a range of state responsibilities: newborn screening policy could expand conditions reviewed by the newborn screening board; changes to cannabis oversight alter enforcement and licensing procedures; the waste-tire measure seeks to address accumulated tires in rural counties by enabling local shredding and reuse as landfill cover; energy legislation aims to incentivize storage capacity to firm renewable output; and the minerals loan would support a near-term processing facility the sponsor said could fill a supply gap.

Most significant items and key debate

Legislative procurement and internal rules (Second Substitute, Senate Bill 143) Senators replaced the body of SB 143 with a second substitute that, the sponsor said, applies joint legislative rules and consolidates policy such as workplace harassment and procurement to the Legislative Management Committee. Sponsor Senator McKell framed the change as consolidating rules "to bring things into conformity to what's actually happening right now." The bill passed on a roll call, receiving 26 yay votes, 0 nay votes and 3 absent.

Newborn screening (First Substitute, Senate Bill 60) The Senate approved a bill that directs the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to add a screening for a rare condition called by its acronym in debate, PDCD, and to refer that possible addition to the state's newborn screening board. Senator Hinkins, sponsor, said the bill "requires the department of health and human services to screen newborns for a disease, which the acronym is PDCD." During debate Senator Balder (Baldery) questioned where the state draws funding lines for rare conditions, noting estimates that PDCD is "extremely rare" ("less than 1 in 50,000"). Senator Eby offered a personal example in support of screening: "My daughter was born with hypothyroidism... The good news is there's a pill for it. ... I think these screeners are important and I appreciate this bill." The bill was read a third time after debate and received 22 yay votes, 4 nay votes and 3 absent.

Medical cannabis licensing and enforcement (First Substitute, Senate Bill 64) Senate Bill 64, as amended on the floor, made multiple technical and policy changes to the medical cannabis licensing and oversight regime, including (per the sponsor) directing the Department of Agriculture and Food to provide staffing support for certain licensing boards, aligning enforcement tools used by the cannabis program with other licensing programs by adopting a non-public "letter of concern" process for minor violations fixed within 30 days, extending notice periods for ownership changes, and adding training requirements for pharmacy staff who interact with patients. Senator Vickers described the changes as aligning cannabis enforcement with existing licensing practice and said that a letter-of-concern procedure would prevent minor administrative issues from producing a public record. The amended bill passed with 23 yay votes and 2 nay votes (two senators recorded as absent in the roll call summary).

Local health and DEQ cooperative agreements (First Substitute, Senate Bill 172) A substitute clarified that local health departments would not act as the police or enforcers of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) but could be reimbursed for costs related to environmental compliance work. Sponsor Senator Bridal described the substitute as establishing cooperative agreements between DEQ and local health departments and a governance committee to review environmental funding and performance standards. The substitute passed 26 yay, 0 nay, 3 absent.

Waste tire recycling amendments (Senate Bill 63) Senator Vickers presented a bill aimed at addressing piles of waste tires in rural Utah by allowing qualifying county landfills (third- through sixth-class counties) to use existing tire-related fees to purchase or rent shredding equipment, then use shredded tires as beneficial landfill cover. The sponsor described negotiations that produced a delayed implementation date and changes to chipping/shredding size in a substitute. Senator Winterton asked whether the existing recycling fee would be affected; the sponsor said no and explained the mechanism would shift fees to landfills that choose to operate shredders. The bill passed for third reading with 25 yay votes, 0 nay, and 4 absent.

Homeless services "Code Blue" (First Substitute, Senate Bill 182) Sponsor Senator Weiler described a substitute that defines a Code Blue event and narrows the bill to apply only during June 1 nd ug. 31/Sept. 30 (the substitute sets the active period as June 1—or summer through Sept. 30) and only to congregate facilities; it also changes a fixed-temperature trigger to National Weather Service—riteria (Heat Risk 2 or greater). The substitute was adopted and the bill was read for third with 24 or 25 yay votes (the roll calls cited 24 then 24/0/5 or 24 yay, 0 nay, 5 absent in places); the clerk's summary recorded 24 yay votes, 0 nays, 5 absent for the substitute as presented on third reading.

Environmental permitting for solid waste facilities (First Substitute, Senate Bill 159) A substitute added a five-year sunset for certain permitting provisions to allow transition to new rules for nonhazardous solid-waste facilities; the sponsor said it aligns permitting with current best practices and industry input. The amended bill passed (final tally recorded as 25 yay votes, 0 nays, 4 absent in the clerk's announcement).

Critical minerals loan (Senate Bill 187, as amended) Senator Stevenson presented an amendment to add collateral requirements to a loan intended to support in-state processing of critical minerals (the sponsor described feldspar and gallium as examples and said China had reduced exports). The sponsor described using interest income from funds previously allocated for other projects and proposed an approximately $11 million loan to a U.S.-owned company that the sponsor said would bring processing capacity into Millard County. A floor amendment added collateral language; the amended bill passed with the roll-call summary showing 27 yay votes, 0 nay, 2 absent.

Commercial wind and solar incentives (Third Substitute, Senate Bill 192) Senate Bill 192 in its third substitute altered incentive eligibility for commercial wind and solar projects by adding requirements that projects include battery-storage capacity sized to deliver several hours of expected peak daily generation (the substitute referenced a six-hour metric for peak daily generation in order to firm renewable output). Sponsor Senator Owens said the change moves incentives toward systems that include storage to provide more reliable power at peak. The third substitute passed (clerk announced 23 yay, 0 nay, 6 absent).

Votes at a glance (selected bills addressed on the floor) - Rules committee report: motion to approve — passed (voice/roll up motion). - Second Substitute, SB 143 (legislative activities; procurement redirected to Legislative Management Committee): passed, 26 yay, 0 nay, 3 absent. - First Substitute, SB 60 (newborn testing amendments; refer screening consideration to newborn screening board): passed, 22 yay, 4 nay, 3 absent. - First Substitute, SB 64 (medical cannabis amendments, as amended): passed, 23 yay, 2 nay, (4 absent recorded elsewhere). - First Substitute, SB 172 (local health department cooperative agreements): passed, 26 yay, 0 nay, 3 absent. - First Substitute, SB 123 (criminal protective orders amendments): passed (roll-call announced; clerk recorded passage). - SB 63 (waste tire recycling amendments, with substitute proposals): passed, 25 yay, 0 nay, 4 absent. - First Substitute, SB 182 (homeless services / Code Blue changes): passed, 24 yay, 0 nay, 5 absent (clerk summary recorded 24 yay on substitute reported to third reading). - First Substitute, SB 159 (environmental quality modifications): passed, 25 yay, 0 nay, 4 absent. - SB 187 (critical minerals loan, as amended with collateral): passed, 27 yay, 0 nay, 2 absent. - Third Substitute, SB 192 (commercial wind/solar incentives with battery-storage requirements): passed, 23 yay, 0 nay, 6 absent.

What the Senate did not decide today Several bills were circled or placed on calendars for further consideration at later stages; the Senate also received communications from the House transmitting bills for signature or consideration. The Senate ended its session and adjourned to meet Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Ending Senate leadership closed the day's floor work after the chamber adopted the day's substitutions and passed a slate of bills. Senators and staff announced evening events and the body adjourned to reconvene on the date announced by the presiding officer.